The present invention is directed to a photographic processing drum having a dual groove arrangement for processing multiple types of photographic film, and a method of operation.
Photographic processors come in a variety of shapes and sizes from large wholesale photographic processors to small micro-labs. As photographic processors become more and more technologically sophisticated, there is a continued need to make the photographic processor as user-friendly and as maintenance-free as possible.
Currently available photographic processors have one or more of the following shortcomings: (1) the film processing time is relatively long; (2) some photographic processors, because of their size, require a large amount of space; (3) some photographic processors may require an unacceptable amount of processing solution due to the design of the processing tank; (4) some photographic processors generate an unacceptable amount of solution waste due to the design of the processing tank; and (5) some photographic processors are not readily adaptable to process multiple types of films.
What is needed in the art is a photographic processor, which provides exceptional print quality while requiring a minimal number of tasks necessary for an operator to process multiple types of film.
The present invention addresses some of the difficulties and problems discussed above by the discovery of a photographic processor having an internal drum design that includes dual grooves which are adapted to receive and convey multiple types of film.
The processor of the present invention is capable of processing multiple size media in a minimal amount of space. The grooves of the invention are used as edge support and reduce any damage of the media. The grooves of the present invention are also positioned in such a way that only the proper amount of chemistry or processing solution is added to the processor, in accordance with the size or the type of media, to reduce chemical waste.
The present invention therefore relates to a photographic processor which comprises a processing drum having a center axis. The processing drum defines a first circular media path located a first distance from the center axis for processing a first type of photographic media, and a second circular media path located a second distance from the center axis which is greater than the first distance for processing a second type of photographic media.
The present invention also relates to a photographic processor which comprises a processing drum having a first wall, a second wall which opposes the first wall, and a side wall which extends around a perimeter of with the drum, with the processing drum further comprising a rotational axis; first and second grooves defined in one of the first or second walls, with the first groove being located a first distance from the rotational axis and the second groove being located a second distance from the rotational axis which is greater than the first distance; and a disk positioned inside the drum adjacent to the other of the first or second walls. The disk has disk teeth thereon which are capable of interengaging with holes along an edge of photographic film to be processed. A first film path for processing a first type of film is defined between the first groove and the disk, such that a first edge of the first type of film is inserted in the first groove and at least one hole on a second edge of the first type of film is interengaged with the disk teeth on the disk. A second film path for processing a second type of film is defined between the second groove and the disk, such that a first edge of the second type of film is inserted in the second groove and at least one hole on a second edge of the second type of film is interengaged with the disk teeth on the disk.
The present invention also relates to a method of processing photographic material, which comprises the steps of inserting a photographic film to be processed into one of first and second circular film paths located in a circular processing drum having a center axis, in accordance with a type of the photographic film, with the first circular film path being located a first distance from the center axis and being adapted to receive a first type of the photographic film, and the second circular film path being located a second distance from the center axis which is greater than the first distance and being adapted to receive a second type of the photographic film; and processing the inserted photographic film in the processing drum.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a review of the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiments and the appended claims.